 1961: 1957 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet semi-solid
mahogany body, black finish, silver pickguard:
Harrison found this one through a member of a band
called the Delacardoes, who got a tip from a taxi
driver. The driver, Ivan Hayward, was a former
merchant seaman who was planning on emigrating and had
decided to sell the Gretsch Duo Jet he'd bought at Sam
Goody's in New York City in 1957. "God knows how I
managed to get 75 quid together," Harrison recalls in
the Anthology book. "It seemed like
a fortune. I remember having it in my inside
pocket, thinking 'I hope nobody mugs me.' " (As it
turned out, he only had £70 at the time and had to
leave an IOU
for the balance -- which he never got around to
paying.) The Duo Jet sported "humped block"
inlays, a Bigsby vibrato and two single-coil DeArmond
pickups. Harrison used this sturdy, stylish
beauty for the early singles, the Please Please
Me sessions
and
innumerable shows in Hamburg, at the Cavern, the Casbah
and throughout Britain until late spring '63.
Then, after getting a swankier Gretsch, Harrison gave
this instrument to Hamburg mate Klaus Voormann, who
changed one pickup and hung on to it for about 20 years
before giving it back to Harrison. Sometime in
late '85 or '86 this guitar was sent to guitar tech Alan
Rogan, who gave it to luthier Roger Giffin
for the rehab work. "I had to rewire it," Giffin
recalls, "because true to form with old Gretsch guitars,
the original wiring was disintegrating." Rogan
"was working with George on and off at the time. He also
brought in a '50s Strat and George's original
Rickenbacker 12 string. I refinished the Strat matte
black (I've seen George playing that in a video) but I'm
not sure what I did to the Rickenbacker."
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Regarding the
Duo Jet, Melvyn Hiscock recalls that Giffin also "had
a spare DeArmond pickup which he fitted and generally
gave the guitar the once-over. I was Roger's shop
manager and was there when all this happened. I
even got to play 'Twist and Shout' and a few other
Beatle tunes on it." Harrison put the restored
Duo Jet to use on Cloud Nine (1987),
whose cover it graces. Pictured above is
Gretsch's authentic G6128-57 reissue. 
1962: 1962
Gibson
J-160E: This is really a tale of two guitars.
Harrison bought an electrified "jumbo" acoustic on 10
September 1962, the same day Lennon bought one, at
Rushworth and Dreaper's Music in Liverpool. (In
photo at left, assistant manager James Rushworth poses
with the lads.) Almost immediately they got the
identical guitars mixed up, for the one Harrison had all
those years since is registered to Lennon. Lennon's
(actually, George's) was stolen in December 1963 at the
Finsbury Astoria Theatre in London during the Christmas
show. So, after little more than a year, having been
used in the studio (Please Please Me, With
the Beatles) and on stage, this guitar
disappeared into the London fog. But Harrison
continued to use "Lennon's" jumbo through the Sgt. Pepper
sessions; he later claimed he gave it away, but it shows
up in 
1963: Gretsch 6131 Jet Fire Bird (single
cutaway, red w/ black pickguard, vintage '58-'62):
Harrison probably borrowed this guitar -- essentially
another version of the Duo Jet -- and used it briefly
early in the year. It's seen in photos from a
Cavern Club rehearsal, but precious little after that.